GLENN R. TURNER   1949 – 2016

CHINA – Glenn R. Turner of China, former reporter and editor at the Morning Sentinel who spearheaded the newspaper’s transition to digital layout in the late 1980s, died Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, after a hard-fought battle with lung cancer, at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta. He was 67.
Glenn was born March 4, 1949, in Waterville, the son of Richard M. Turner and Beverly J. (Tapley) Turner. He graduated from Waterville Senior High School in 1967 and from the University of Maine, Orono, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology, in 1971. He met his future wife, Kathaleen Ladd, while they both were working at the Holiday Inn in Waterville. They married on Feb. 24, 1973, and had two daughters.
Glenn started working at the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a proofreader on March 25, 1973. He was quickly promoted to reporter, where he showed an innate ability to capture the essence of whatever he was covering. At weekly staff meetings, Glenn’s organizational skills became evident and he soon was known for his pie charts and graphs. Then-city editor Kenneth J. Morton was heard on more than one occasion to refer to Glenn as a “born newspaperman.”
He was promoted from reporter to various positions at the newspaper, including state editor, city editor, managing editor for operations, news projects manager and web and special projects editor. The multiple roles required integration of journalism, editing, technical, Web, budgetary and staff management skills and encompassed two production sites in Waterville and at the newspaper’s sister paper, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta.
Glenn was president of the Maine Press Association from 1993 to 1994 and treasurer and a member of the board of directors from 1994 to 2000. He served on the board of directors of United Way of Mid-Maine from 2000 to 2003. He retired from the newspapers in 2010 at 62, but continued to manage online weekly newspapers and worked for the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce in Waterville.
Glenn devotedly cared for his wife, Kathaleen, as she battled multiple sclerosis until her death in 2011.
At the time of his death, he was living with his longtime, loving partner, Susan A. Strasburg, in China.
In addition to Strasburg, he is survived by her son, Zachary T. Walter and his wife, April Snow, and their son, Brogan J. Walter; a brother, Timothy S. Turner and wife Cathy; daughter, Kristin L. Cronkite and husband, Jerod, their daughter, Maddison, and son, Jeremy and his wife Mckenzie and their son, Griffin; daughter, Melanie L. Sweet and husband, Chris, their son Isaac, their daughters Alexia Sweet and Baylie Dalton; nephews, Timothy Turner and wife Audra and their children Cayden and Autum, Robert Turner and wife Hillary and their children Addison and Rosalyn, Brooks Ladd and his wife Rebecca and their children Mathew and Nathan, Spencer Ladd and wife Li and their children Roland and Mackenzie; Arthur Ladd and his wife Shelby.
Glenn also was predeceased by his mother, Beverly J. Turner; father, Richard M. Turner; and wife, Kathaleen L. Turner.
The family would like to thank all the staff of MaineGeneral Medical Center, MaineGeneral Hospice, Hospice Care and the Alfond Cancer Center, for all their help and kindness.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, Main Street, Fairfield. Friends and family are encouraged and welcome to participate, with a luncheon to follow immediately at the Waterville Elks Lodge.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Annual Fall Conference on October 29 in South Portland. We were pleased to host over 100 attendees at the 2016 Hall of Fame Induction, and 175 MPA members and guests at the Awards Dinner & Banquet.

From engaging sessions and a terrific Hall of Fame Induction to the successful Scholarship Auction & Reception, MPA Sing-along, Contest awards, and moving Journalist of the Year presentation, this year’s conference had something for everyone.

Now that it’s done and we begin to look ahead to next year’s Conference in Bar Harbor, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us what you liked, or what you didn’t like; what worked well, or what could be improved upon; what was missing, or what you’d like to see dropped completely.

Send your raves, your rants, your suggestions or feedback to Diane Norton, MPA Executive Director at mainepressmail@gmail.com.

SOUTH PORTLAND, October 30, 2016 – The Bangor Daily News, the Mount Desert Islander of Bar Harbor, The Courier-Gazette of Rockland and the Maine Sunday Telegram have been honored by the Maine Press Association for General Excellence in print newspapers.

The Bangor Daily News and the Boothbay Register took top honors for digital General Excellence in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented Saturday night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in South Portland, concluding a day of workshops for journalists, advertising staff and newsroom managers throughout the state.

Earlier in the day, the association inducted three new members to its Hall of Fame: Rex Rhoades, former executive editor of the Sun Journal in Lewiston; Steve Solloway, sports columnist for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram for 25 years; and Hugh Bowden, retired editor, editorial and sports writer, and executive editor of The Ellsworth American.

In the General Excellence competition for print newspapers, the Bangor Daily News was judged the best daily in Maine while the Maine Sunday Telegram was the weekend Newspaper of the Year for the sixth time in seven years.

The contest judge wrote of the Bangor Daily News, “This is a great local paper that serves the public with excellence” while declaring the Maine Sunday Telegram, “is a great example of a newspaper that still provides its readers with a mountain of excellent content.”

In the Weekly 1 division, for newspapers with less than 4,000 print circulation, the Mount Desert Islander was described as having “an interesting mix of news; special sections are interesting and filled with local content — a refreshing change from most markets” while the Weekly 2 winner, The Courier-Gazette, was lauded for its “coherent design, good use of color, very newsy” content.

The Mount Desert Islander has been named Newspaper of the Year 10 times since 2006 – six times in the Weekly 1 division and four straight years in Weekly 2 (4,000 and over circulation).

The General Excellence winner for websites among daily/weekend papers, the Bangor Daily News, was cited for having “the most interesting digital offering of all Maine’s papers. BDN’s forays into video complement what is strong and fluid state house coverage that serves its region well.”

Judges praised the weekly division winner, the Boothbay Register, explaining “A small and local publication is going to do best when it foregrounds information that others don’t provide. Local minutiae is what a community audience wants and I was able to find it immediately upon getting to the Register’s site.”

The Mount Desert Islander won the Freedom of Information first-place award in the weekly category, while the Sun Journal took top honors in the daily/weekend division.

Erin Rhoda of the Bangor Daily News was named the Journalist of the Year while Jean Berg of the Portland Press Herald was the Advertising Person of the Year.

Abigail W. Adams of the Lincoln County News won the Bob Drake Young Writer’s Award, and Jeanne Luetjen was honored by the MPA as the Unsung Hero of the Year.

A complete list of 2016 award winners will be posted in the coming week on the MPA’s website: www.mainepressassociation.org

We’re looking forward to seeing MPA members and guests at the MPA Annual Fall Conference on Saturday, October 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland.

MPA Members are welcome to attend the Annual Business Meeting at 8:30 a.m. Come hear about the year’s accomplishments, the financial state of the association, and take part in the election of officers and board members for the coming year.

Morning sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. followed by the Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at 12:30 p.m., and one afternoon session slated at 2:30 p.m.

The ever-engaging Scholarship Auction & Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner and Banquet.

A full day of events is planned for the MPA Annual Fall Conference on October 29, 2016, at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, including informative sessions, the Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction, and The 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

The day kicks off at 8:30 with the Annual Business Meeting. Morning sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. followed by the Hall of Fame Luncheon at 12:30 p.m., and one afternoon session slated at 2:30 p.m.

The ever-engaging Scholarship Auction & Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner and Banquet.

We’ve negotiated a very attractive hotel rate of $107/night for MPA members and guests at DoubleTree by Hilton Portland, good for the nights of October 28 and 29. The deadline for room reservations at the $107/night rate was October 12; please call the hotel directly at 775-6161 (and ask for the Maine Press Association group rate, using group code MEP) to check on availability after the reservation deadline.

The Conference registration deadline was October 10. For further information about the conference or registration, please check with MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or via phone at 691-0131.

Three journalists whose service to the state’s newspapers totals more than 110 years will enter the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame next month.

Rex Rhoades, Steve Solloway and Hugh Bowden will be inducted Oct. 29 at a luncheon during the MPA’s annual Fall Conference at the DoubleTree hotel in South Portland. The three were nominated by colleagues and selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee.

Rhoades retired in April after 19 years as executive editor of the Sun Journal in Lewiston and a total of four decades in journalism. Under his leadership, the Sun Journal was the MPA’s Daily Newspaper of the Year five times and Weekend Newspaper of the Year eight times.

Rhoades was named the MPA’s Journalist of the Year in 1999 and served as its president in 2002-03, leading the association’s push for reforms to the state’s Freedom of Access Act.

Solloway was one of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram’s best-known writers for his 25 years as a sports columnist. He came to Maine in 1975 to be sports editor of the Kennebec Journal for nine years. He joined the Portland newspapers in 1984, reporting and commenting on sports in the Central Maine area for the Maine Sunday Telegram. In 1990, then sports editor Bill Nemitz asked Solloway to write his first sports column.

A true storyteller, Solloway covered many of Maine’s biggest sporting events and personalities over four decades, including the University of Maine’s national hockey championships and the Lawrence High School basketball star Cindy Blodgett.

Bowden retired in August after a career in Down East Maine newspapers that spanned more than 50 years, starting in 1964 at The Weekly Packet in Blue Hill. He filled many roles, as an editor, an editorial and sports writer and a mentor to many journalists who worked with him.

Bowden was executive editor of The Ellsworth American from 1989 to 2015, years when the American won multiple Newspaper of the Year honors from the MPA, and was president of the MPA in 1972-73.

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/

Tickets to the Hall of Fame luncheon are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.

The Maine Press Association’s Annual Fall Conference will be held this year on October 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland. A full day of conference events is planned including the Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon, annual Scholarship Auction, and The 2016 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Dinner & Banquet.

And what about those awards? Judges have been mindful of last week’s deadline for decisions and comments, and have been overwhelming the MPA Office with packages, decisions and wonderful comments. Here’s a snippet of what the judge of Feature Story—Daily Weekend had to say, “This was one of the best categories of a contest which I’ve ever reviewed…. The readers of Maine’s newspapers should be proud to have such commitment to good journalism presented to them by all of these newspapers.”

We hope to have the majority of decisions sorted, reviewed and ready to share with members by mid-September. In the meantime, be on the lookout for registration/hotel reservation information as well as details about this year’s program and sessions.

The Journal Tribune, a daily, multi-award- winning newspaper serving York County for 131 years, has an immediate opening for a full-time Sports Editor. The ideal candidate will have 3 to 5 years’ experience as a writer and/or editor in the Sports department of a daily newspaper; copy editing and pagination experience; strong photography and Photoshop skills; and proficiency producing and editing content for the internet and Facebook. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing one full-time sports writer and a stable of freelancers, covering local games and sporting events, performing community outreach with coaches and parents, designing daily sports and news pages, updating journaltribune.com, and posting content to social media. You should be comfortable – and show equal enthusiasm for — covering everything from Little League and high school sports to the OOB Surge and the Boston Red Sox. A thorough knowledge of sports and sports terminology is a must, and a professional demeanor inside and outside the office is essential. To apply, send a cover letter, resume, two sports photography samples, and two sports writing samples (500-1,000 words) to: publisher@journaltribune.com

Staff Reporter: Courier Publications, LLC is hiring a Staff Reporter for The Camden Herald. Duties include reporting local news and taking digital photos. Applicants should have strong writing/communication skills and a willingness to learn. A strong interest in the Knox County, Maine area and a desire to serve the community using established journalistic ethics and practices required. Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred. Job requires some nights, weekends. Access to a reliable vehicle a must. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. Email résumé, cover letter and clips to: Daniel Dunkle, News Director ddunkle@villagesoup.com

Staff Reporter: Courier Publications, LLC is hiring a Staff Reporter for The Courier-Gazette. Duties include reporting local news and taking digital photos. Applicants should have strong writing/communication skills and a willingness to learn. A strong interest in the Knox County, Maine area and a desire to serve the community using established journalistic ethics and practices required. Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred. Job requires some nights, weekends. Access to a reliable vehicle a must. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. Email résumé, cover letter and clips to: Daniel Dunkle, News Director ddunkle@villagesoup.com